Revealed - the type of buyer who moved during stamp duty holiday

A report claims the flurry of transactions over recent months has been down mostly to families moving into larger homes and investor activity.

Reallymoving says the annual change in the average price paid by an ‘upsizer’ in the second quarter of this year was 10 per cent to £418,000 and, for investors over the same time period, 14.9 per cent to £205,000.

“One reason first time buyers have been [active] is that although prices are up, affordability due to competitive mortgage rates remains normal, with mortgage payments costing 31.1 per cent of take-home pay,” explains Reallymoving.

“Rising property prices do make saving for a deposit harder, but as some have managed to save more money during the pandemic, it’s likely the higher deposits required were more easily secured, especially for those that have been able to carry on earning without spending as they normally would.

“It’s so important for hopeful first time buyers to focus on the type of property/mover type trends, rather than seeing averages and assuming a move is unachievable” it adds.

Regionally, the division in average property prices across all categories is significant says Reallymoving. For example, in the North East, a third of properties sold for under £100,000 and 85 per cent sold for less than £250,000.

In Wales, the North West, Scotland, Yorkshire and Humber and Northern Ireland, this figure lies at 70 per cent.

Reallymoving chief executive Rob Houghton says: “Our new property price analysis by home mover type shows that despite a seemingly unusual year in the property market, there are plenty of opportunities this year for those who want to move, even after the stamp duty holiday has ended.

“We want everyone to feel that their moving home goals are achievable and not be put off because they were looking at data that was too general.

“Average property price data is not helpful without context, so we have looked at property prices and inflation by location as well as by category of mover.”